“Now this is faith: you must believe in God the Lord of all who made the heavens and the earth and the seas and all that is in them; and he made Adam in his image; and he gave the law to Moses; he sent his Spirit on the prophets; moreover, he sent his Christ into the world…This is the faith of the church of God.” (Araphat from “Demonstrations on Faith”)

This early description of faith helps us to understand the blessing St. Joseph shared and how this faith helped him to say yes to God’s will and divine providence in this life as husband of Mary and father of Jesus our Lord. Pope Francis in his Apostolic Letter “Patris Corde” gives us this insight, “In every situation, Joseph declared his own “fiat”, like those of Mary at the Annunciation and Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane.” (#3 Patris Corde) Pope Francis has been reflecting on the dreams of Joseph and the willingness to St. Joseph accepting and acting on God’s call to serve, first in fulfilling his call to be husband and second to the caring for and becoming the Holy Family in the flight to Egypt and the subsequent time in Nazareth.

This focusses us on St. Joseph’s willingness to listen and act. He was called and responded with a generosity of love. Venerable Fulton Sheen remarked, “No husband and wife ever loved one another so much as Joseph and Mary.”
Focusing on the mission of loving and caring for another is a grace filled calling in life. I always imagine the laughter and joy that must have filled the house even during the trials and tribulations that surround them in their life as husband and wife. Did they suffer as husband and wife, mother and father? We can answer yes. But their response would have been peace and the continued reaching out to others. This is the grace filled mission.
We are also invited, by God, to follow the example of Joseph in this mission of love, caring and peace. Our world which is so often filled the strangling fear of sin the reality of this mission of love, caring and peace seems only to be a dream. But God calls us to enact the dream in the example of St. Joseph in moving out of the doubts and fears and enter into the grace filled peace of serving and participating in the life of Jesus Christ.
What does this look like? For me it begins with an act of service. When was the last time we chose to serve another? And did we choose to make it an act of love? It may be a simple as a check in phone call with an elderly friend or family member. It may be the bringing dinner over for someone who just needs a home cooked meal. It may be a thank-you and have a nice day comment to someone you meet in the grocery store or on you walk about the neighborhood. Or it could be within you family to choose to love, simply because we are called to love.

“All this makes it clear that “Saint Joseph was called by God to serve the person and mission of Jesus directly through the exercise of his fatherhood” and that in this way, ‘he cooperated in the fullness of time in the great mystery of salvation and is truly a minister of salvation.’” )#3 Patris Corde)
To become like St. Joseph, “a minster of salvation” we must choose to serve daily those around us. Whether it is with a family member, a friend, neighbor or the stranger we meet, choosing to share in serving “the person and mission of Jesus” participate in our invitation to be brothers and sisters in Christ.
God bless,
Fr. Mark,

Hail, Guardian of the Redeemer,
Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary. 
To you God entrusted his only Son; 
in you Mary placed her trust; 
with you Christ became man.
Blessed Joseph, to us too,
show yourself a father 
and guide us in the path of life. 
Obtain for us grace, mercy and courage, 
and defend us from every evil. Amen.